Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Our "gardener" was back today and he really worked hard to start the transformation we plan for the front of the building. It's amazing what edging will do for a place!

It's shaping up slowly, but let's take a walk down memory lane to re-visit what it looked like when we first bought the place:

Then...

Now!

Then...

Now!

The next steps to our transformation include painting the front façade (meeting with two painters tomorrow), replacing the front doors (meeting with a contractor tomorrow), replacing the awning (already on order) and mounting a lighted sign on the front of the building.

Other stuff we did today:

Tom continued to work his asphalt off today sealing the foundation.

More painting!

Found this graffiti scratched into the bricks under the area I was
painting. Really...these kids think it's spelled "asshoal?"
What's the world coming to if kids can't even spell dirty
words right anymore? I weep for the future.

Monday, June 24, 2013

So Tom started his "vacation" on Sunday, which means he'll be working long days down at the building. A few days of this kind of vacation, and he probably won't be able to wait to go back to work!

His first plan of attack is to try to remediate the water (dampness really, not standing water) in the basement. The walls have been wet for weeks now and never seem to dry. Of course, we've had much more rain this summer so far (about 3 times the normal amount), and seeing as the basement is halfway underground, a little dampness is to be expected, but it's getting a little ridiculous and must be taken care of.

Tom's Plan of Attack:
Change the grade of soil around the exterior so water flows away and not towards the building.

How Tom spent his Father's Day.

This is what 2,600 pounds of topsoil looks like!

Seal around the foundation on the parking lot side.

Foundation sealed and Tom and his dad put extensions on some of
the downspouts to get the water away from the building.

We already know this sealant works because we had a downpour
later in the day and water was pooled in these 2 spots -
water that would have previously gone in the basement. Success!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the building, I was busy painting over the window covers. This is also part of Operation Dry Basement. Re-paint all of the window covers, re-caulk them, then put a new wood cover over those and caulk again. There is definitely water coming in through these. By the way, these covers were put on years ago as a way of insulating the old, original windows. There is a piece of Styrofoam board insulation between the wood panel and the window. Some before and afters:

We also had an extra pair of hands helping us today. Anybody recognize this guy?

Pop was chopping out the weeds around the building - a
much-needed and tough job!

Can you believe he's taking a break already??

It was a crazy kind of day. It went from 90 sticky degrees to a thunderstorm, which turned into a hailstorm.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Okay, so it wasn’t as historically great a moment as when
the Berlin Wall came down, but we were celebrating when Tom took down
the last remaining office wall.It
instantly transformed the entire upstairs into a wide open space, giving it that "lofty" feel with high ceilings and lots of open space.It’s pretty awesome!